U.S., Afghan Troops Swarm Borderland

Thousands of American and Afghan troops unleashed a new offensive against Taliban militants in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday in an effort to expand the government’s reach into the volatile Pakistani border region.

The operation comes as a NATO-led force, including 2,500 U.S. soldiers, is launching heavy attacks on militants in Afghanistan’s south, which officials say have killed hundreds of guerrillas over the last two weeks.

In London, Lt. Gen. David Richards of Britain, who took command of the 8,000-member North Atlantic Treaty Organization force last month, predicted the campaign to crush the Taliban would take three to five more years and said he was determined to succeed.

The offensive involves 7,000 U.S. and Afghan soldiers in the central and eastern provinces of Paktika, Khowst, Ghazni, Paktia and Lowgar, the military said. Fighter planes and helicopters will provide support.

Taliban and other Islamic extremist groups, including Al Qaeda, are known to operate in the region, especially in the area bordering Pakistan where the reach of the government is weak and militants find sanctuary.

Highlighting the dangers the troops face, two insurgent attacks on a military base in Khowst killed a U.S.-led coalition soldier and wounded another on Friday, the military said. A number of Afghan troops also were wounded, it said.

A suspected suicide bomber died in the same province when explosives strapped to his body detonated prematurely as he approached a police checkpoint Saturday. No one else was injured in the blast, police said.

The U.S. military said troops had been preparing for weeks for the border operation and launched its “maneuver phase” early Saturday.

A separate U.S.-led operation has been underway in Kunar province’s Korangal Valley since late August.